Volleyball 3-1 at Border Battle Tournament

Becca Thompson (left) and Andrea Kron (right) reach for the block against Simpson

The Gustavus volleyball team had a successful weekend, registering a 3-1 record at the MIAC-IIAC Border Battle Tournament. The Gusties, one of four teams that finished with a 3-1 mark, opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over Luther on Friday afternoon before falling to Simpson 3-2 on Friday evening. Gustavus responded Saturday with victories over University of Dubuque (3-2) and Loras (3-0). The University of Dubuque, Simpson College and Saint Mary’s University also finished 3-1 during the weekend. The MIAC and IIAC finished even in games played at St. Peter, winning eight games apiece. The MIAC fared far better in games played at Waverly, Iowa, taking 14 of 16 matchups, giving the MIAC a 22-10 overall advantage during the tournament.,

Gustavus 3, Luther 1
The Gusties started slowly against the upstart Norse, falling behind 20-10 in game one before rallying to tie the game at 28-28. A Becca Thompson kill gave Gustavus a 29-28 lead with the serve, but the Gusties faltered, allowing the Norse to score three straight points to take the game, 31-29.

Gustavus settled into a rhythm after that, taking the next three games for the victory. Becca Thompson led all Gusties with 18 kills and seven block assists. Jennifer Thelemann and Jessica Plemel added ten kills apiece. Plemel also picked up a team-high 24 digs. Gustavus picked up 15 total team blocks during the match.

Simpson 3, Gustavus 2
Becca Thompson again led the way for the Gusties, notching another 16 kills, but it was not enough against Simpson. The Gusties fell into an 0-2 hole early, dropping the first two games by scores of 30-19 and 30-26. Gustavus responded, though, taking games three and four to tie the match and force the pivotal fifth game. The Storm emerged from the decisive game with the 15-12 victory, taking both team’s records to 10-9 overall. Thelemann and Andrea Kron also picked up double-digits in kills, with 11 apiece. Jessica Plemel added another 19 digs in the losing effort.

Gustavus 3, Dubuque 2
The Gusties opened play Saturday morning finding themselves right where they left off Friday night – dropping games one and two and taking games three and four to set up an all-important fifth game. This time, however, the Gusties did not let the opportunity to claim a victory slip away, taking game five, 16-14, to move to 11-9 on the season. Thompson continued her great play during the tournament, picking up a Gustavus season-high 22 kills. She hit .386 with only five errors during the match. Andrea Kron added 15 kills, while Jami Moseng scored ten kills and 5.5 of the Gusties’ 17 blocks.

Gustavus 3, Loras 0
Gustavus rounded out its portion of the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Loras. Jennifer Thelemann led the Gusties with 10 kills, while Kron and Thompson followed close behind with eight and seven, respectively. Gustavus picked up another 13.5 team blocks, holding the Duhawks to a -.046 hitting percentage for the game. The Gusties improved to 12-9 overall, while the Duhawks slipped to 6-14 overall.

For the tournament, the Gusties led all eight teams in blocks (3.56 per game) and digs (18.59 per game), while Becca Thompson led all individuals in both hitting percentage (.356) and blocks (1.76 per game). Another sign of Gustavus’ strong play at the net was the presence of both Jami Moseng (second, 1.53 per game) and Jennifer Thelemann (fourth, 1.29 per game) behind Thompson on the tournament blocks list.
Emily Klein and Jessica Plemel finished the tournament third and fourth on the tournament digs list with 4.18 and 3.88 digs per game, respectively.